HB 2265 Summary

• Amends Arizona's state plan process for regulating carbon dioxide emissions from existing electric generation units to comply with federal Carbon Emission Guidelines for Existing Stationary Sources: Electric Utility Generating Units Final Rule (80 Federal Register 64661, October 23, 2015).

• Establishes a joint legislative review committee that must review any proposed state plan within 60 days of receipt and develop review factors including grid security, natural gas availability, economic impacts, effects on ratepayers, and local community impacts.

• Requires the director of environmental quality to transmit the proposed state plan to the joint legislative review committee at least 90 days before submitting it to federal administrators, allowing concurrent public and legislative review.

• Changes the director's authority from discretionary ("may") to mandatory ("shall") to submit the state plan to the federal administrator after legislative review or if the committee fails to act in a timely manner.

• Exempts rulemaking implementing the state plan from requiring governor's regulatory review council approval and requires the director to provide the legislative committee notice of proposed rules at the same time as submission to the administrative register.